Learn how to custom make your own nailhead headboard (at a fraction of the cost).

*Sponsored by our friends at Spoonflower. Woop woop!

I’m feeling all the feels about how awesome it is to create a truly custom headboard! Did you ever imagine you could customize the fabric, the headboard shape, the size, the height…every little detail? I knew I could “build” a headboard (although, let’s be honest, this barely counts as a build). I didn’t know you could literally design your own fabric, and even have throw pillows made in a custom design!

A Truly Custom Nailhead Headboard

At Spoonflower you can choose from hundreds of stylish and trendy fabric selections, OR you can create your own design. They will turn into the fabric type of choice for you! How awesome is that?

Wait, that’s not all. You can sell your own design, turn it into wallpaper, or even gift wrap. Guys. guys. I can’t even. Why did I not hear about this before?

‘Whimsy Girl’ Design Collection

I love that my 12-year-old daughter Priya got to have complete creative control and design fabric for her own headboard and pillows. It is her bedroom, why shouldn’t it reflect her style and taste?

Priya is my little artist, so she was thrilled to be able design her own floral fabric and watch it become a headboard. Then via Spoonflower’s sister brand Roostery we ordered throw pillows made from one of her leaf designs.

If you can let your child turn their drawings into throw pillows, wall paper, gift wrap, or a headboard…definitely go for it!

OR you can buy Priya’s Whimsy Girl collection, and the percentage she receives from the sale via Spoonflower will go into her college fund (she plans to become an artist!).

How To Make Your Own Headboard

This tutorial really is super simple. The video shared at the beginning of this post gives you the how-to, but for those of you who prefer to read than watch, never fear! Instructions are below!

Determine Headboard Shape: Use a roll of paper (kraft paper or gift wrap will do) cut to the desired width you want your headboard to be. Fold in half, and trace the half shape you want for the headboard. Cut it out, open it on your plywood, and use painters tape to hold it in place. Trace the shape onto the plywood.

Cut Plywood: use a jig saw to cut the shape you have just traced onto your plywood. Sand any overly rough edges.

Add Legs To Give Height (Optional): Add two 2×4’s (or the thinner 1×4’s) the same distance from the edges of your headboard (5 inches recommended). Simply screw on the legs to the plywood. It is recommended you add a support across the top or middle between those two legs.

Cut Foam To Size: Cut out 3/4″ upholstery foam to the shape of the plywood. Be sure to cover the full plywood front (remember, the back has legs). Place fabric over top, center, and smooth it out.

Nail on Upholstery Tacks: Nail upholstery tacks around the edge of your headboard starting from the top and working outward. Don’t forget to pull the fabric taut as you go. You can nail tacks right on the edge, or leave a 1/2″ space. Check the “Tack Tip” below for details on this step.

Staple Fabric Edges: Pull the fabric tight around to the back of the headboard and staple in place. You may need to trim fabric pieces in order to shape around curved areas. Optionally add a backing.

Super Secret Nailhead Trick

You could use a nailhead strip (as long as your curves aren’t too curvey). But I think applying individual nailheads looks much more chic than the faux strip version.

The Problem: Because you are hammering nailhead tacks into plywood, this harder wood tends to leave you with more bent tacks than straight ones. They also don’t drive in straight, resulting in a crooked line. I have a nifty little trick to help you achieve a beautiful and perfectly curved or straight line.

The Solution: Think of this solution as similar to pre-drilling holes to place your tacks in. You can’t actually use a drill bit if your fabric has a tight weave…it will just spin and get caught in the drill bit. Instead hammer nails to create holes half the depth of the tack, then pull the nail out. Now you can insert the tack into the hole you just made and drive it the rest of the way in.

Use a nailhead spacer to get those pre-hammered holes lined up just right. You’ll want to use a a finishing nail (the thinnest one you get, and still easily hold to hammer). To get the depth right without guessing each time, use a little piece of painters tape around the nail as a “stop” point, or mark the nail with a sharpie. While you will use a regular hammer to drive the nails, but a special tack hammer to drive the tacks. Keep your tacks from being scratched by layering painters tape on the end of the tack hammer. When it gets bare, just slap on even more.

The Final Results + Materials

Priya is loving her nailhead headboard! If you make your own, please be sure to share with us on Facebook. Also tag Home Made by Carmona and Spoonflower so we can see your handiwork.

Wondering how much of everything you’ll need? Or where I got my tools? Here is what you’ll need:

ALT: 1″ Project foam/mattress topper (this is a better solution than the one I bought. You only need one, and it can be used for King sized headboards)(FYI foam doesn’t need to go to the very bottom of the headboard)

Both Priya and I have plans to continue creating gorgeous fabric designs, so follow our Spoonflower shop here for the latest and greatest!

Your information will never be sold or shared with a third party. Pinky swear!

Welcome to my blog! I'm Ursula, and I admit it, I'm a DIY junkie. Well, I have to be! I've got expensive taste, but no decor budget! I hope to inspire you to make your house beautiful, organized, and a great place to grow and love! September 14, 2018 by Ursula Carmona | 5 Comments

My Latest Videos

Click Here To Become An HMC Maker!

Featured

As Seen On TV

As Seen In Print

Use of Content

Photographs: Unless express permission has been granted, only 1-2 photographs from a post may be used for the purposes of feature. Keep photographs in their original, watermarked state, and link back to the specific post they were taken from. Please credit Home Made by Carmona by name.

Free printables: Freebies, printables, printouts, and more are complimentary to my readers and should only be for personal use, and not used to sell, or other business purposes. If you are featuring your personal use of a Home Made by Carmona printable online or in print, please credit and link back to Home Made by Carmona by name, and to the specific post you obtained it from.

Quotes: Please do not quote entire paragraphs of Home Made by Carmona. Snippets may be taken and linked back.

Sponsored Posts & Affiliate Links

Sponsored posts: Home Made by Carmona works selectively with companies and brands that it is believed the readers will enjoy and be benefited from. Sponsors and collaborations are carefully chosen, and the opinion shared is always an honest opinion.

Affiliate links: Ursula Carmona in association with Home Made by Carmona, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Home Made by Carmona often includes affiliate links in-post that may direct you outside of the Home Made by Carmona website. Home Made by Carmona receives a small compensation when you shop through those links, and at no extra charge to you. Not all links in-post are affiliate, often Home Made by Carmona shares because we care.

At Home Made by Carmona we consider the privacy of our visitors to be extremely important. This privacy policy document describes the types of personal information that is collected and recorded by homemadebycarmona.com and how we use it.

1.Scope of This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Statement describes the types of personal information collected, used and disclosed by Home Made by Carmona (“Company”, “us,” “we” or “our”) when you access or use the website or mobile applications provided by us (collectively, the “Site”). This Privacy Statement does not govern our collection of personal information through any website, mobile application, blog or other means, other than through the Site.

By using the Site, you explicitly accept, without limitation or qualification, our practices surrounding the collection, use, and sharing of personal information provided by you in the manner described in this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Statement, please do not access, browse, or use the Site.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Statement whenever you use or access the Site to stay informed about our personal information practices and the ways you can help protect your privacy.

2.Data and Information Collected
Like many other Web sites, Home Made by Carmona makes use of log files. These files merely logs visitors to the site - usually a standard procedure for hosting companies and a part of hosting services's analytics. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. This information is used to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.

Log Information. When you access the Site, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, IP address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request, your computer operating system, mobile device and mobile operating system, name of your internet service provider or your mobile carrier, and one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) that may uniquely identify your browser.
Links. The Site may include links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether these links have been followed by IP addresses. We use this information to improve the quality of our products and design.
URLs. When you visit or access the Site, we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave the Site. Additionally, advertisers receive the URL of the page you were on when you click on an ad on the Site.
Cookies. When you visit or access the Site, we send one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of the Site by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you disable cookies, you may not be able to use some customized features available through the Site.
Web Beacons. Web beacons (also known as “pixel tags” or “clear GIFs”) are 1×1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count the number of users who have visited or accessed the Site and to recognize users by accessing our cookies. We may employ web beacons to facilitate Site administration and navigation, to track the actions of users of the Site, to compile aggregate statistics about Site usage and response rates, and to provide an enhanced online experience for visitors to the Site. We may also include web beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine which e-mail messages were opened.
Aggregate Information. We may compile certain personal information and other information collected through the Site on an aggregate basis. This information may include, without limitation, the number of people who have visited the Site and other user demographics. Such aggregate information does not identify you individually.
3.How We Use Personal Information / Data
Personal information collected through the Site may be used by us and our affiliates for purposes of:

Managing your account and providing any other services you select through the Site;
Responding to your questions and feedback;
Contacting you, whether by email, postal mail, or telephone with information about the Site, our products, or our services;
For such purposes as you may authorize at the time you submit the information;
Auditing, research, and analysis to maintain, protect, and improve the Site and our services;
Ensuring the technical functions of our network;
Improving and customizing the content and layout of the Site;
Developing new products and services; or
Compiling personal information and other information collected through the Site on an aggregate basis.
4.Our Advertising & Affiliate Partners
Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include (but are not excluded to) the list below:

Google (Analytics, Adsense, etc.)
Commission Junction (Convsersant)
Amazon
RewardStyle
Rakuten Marketing (Linkshare)
AdThrive
Mad Mimi
Facebook
Each of these advertising partners has their own Privacy Policy which you are subject to and agree to their terms of service and privacy policy when opting into using or visiting Home Made by Carmona or receiving any of our communications. We have linked as many of our partners and their policies above as we are aware of.

These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology in their respective advertisements and links that appear on http://www.homemadebycarmona.com/ and which are sent directly to your browser. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) may also be used by our site's third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and/or to personalize the advertising content that you see on the site.

Home Made by Carmona has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. http://www.homemadebycarmona.com/'s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites. What Are Cookies?

5. External Links
The Site may contain links to various websites and ad platforms that we do not control. When you click on one of these links, you will no longer be transacting business through the Site. Third party websites maintain their own privacy policies, and we do not exercise any control over any of the third party websites that may be linked to the Site. If you visit a website that is linked to the Site, you should consult that website’s privacy policy before providing any personal information. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other website, and we are not liable for their misuse of personal information about you.

6. A Special Note About Children's Information
We believe it is important to provide added protection for children online. We encourage parents and guardians to spend time online with their children to observe, participate in and/or monitor and guide their online activity.
http://www.homemadebycarmona.com/ does not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 18. If you are a minor, you can use the Site only in conjunction with your parents or guardians.

7. Consent

By using our website, you hereby consent to our privacy policy and agree to its terms.

8. Update
This Privacy Policy was last updated on: May 15th, 2018.
Privacy Policy Online Approved Site
Should we update, amend or make any changes to our privacy policy, those changes will be posted at: http://www.homemadebycarmona.com/privacy-policy-tos/

Your information will never be sold or shared with a third party. Pinky swear!

Send this to a friend

Your emailRecipient email

Cookies, and data collection enable us to customize your browsing experience. By continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of data collection and tracking. See our Privacy Policy for details. more information

Cookies and data collection enable us to customize your browsing experience. By continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of data collection and tracking. See our Privacy Policy for more details.